With your new Windows Phone, you have ultimate utilities for business, gaming and social media. It will sync perfectly with your Xbox and other Windows devices. It even has Office pre-installed. Used to its full capability, a Windows Phone could replace your computer.

Steps

1

Turn the power on and off. To turn the phone on, hold the Power button in the middle of the right edge until the screen starts. To turn it off, hold the Power button until you see Slide to Power Off, then swipe down on your phone.

2

Familiarize yourself with your phone's buttons. Windows phones have three soft touch buttons below the screen. They are Back, Start and Search. On the right edge of the screen there are three buttons. They are Volume, Power and Camera Shutter.

To view all apps, open and hold the Back button.

To take a screenshot, hold the Power and Volume Up buttons.

To activate Cortana, hold the Search button.

The Camera Shutter button will activate camera even if phone is locked.

3

Play with the preloaded apps on your phone. Apps unique to Windows Phone which you might want to get your head around are:

Storage Sense: Easily manage storage on your device. You can see how much space each app takes, and you can even install apps to an SD card if your phone supports it.

Data Sense: Track the usage of cellular and Wi-Fi data. This app shows a breakdown of data usage, and gives you options to set limits in order to help you reduce data.

Battery Sense: View the battery usage breakdown. You can edit which apps you allow in the background, and have access to features to save battery.

Office: Create and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents. Then save to SkyDrive or your phone for on-the-go viewing.

Internet Explorer: Browse the web on your phone. You can open unlimited tabs, as well as using InPrivate browsing and other useful tools.

HERE Maps: No matter which way you travel, this app has you covered. You can even download offline maps to navigate without an internet connection.

HERE Transit: This app makes it easy for you to get to places by bus, train and subway. You can customize the way you use transport and quickly compare routes.

HERE Drive+: Offering offline turn-by-turn voice-guided navigation, this app will get you anywhere without having to carry a GPS or have an internet connection.

4

Insert and Remove the SIM Card. Take the back cover off to expose the SIM card port.

5

Take a picture of your Windows Phone screen. Press the Power and Volume Up button at the same time. The photo is saved to your screenshot folder and can be viewed with the Photos app.

6

Check your phone version.

Checking version: Go to Settings, System, About, More Information and you can then view the version of your phone and software.

Check for updates: Go to Settings, System, Phone Updates, Check for Updates and new updates will be available to download.

7

View and rearrange your apps. To pin an app to start, uninstall it or rate it, long tap the app from the App List. To rearrange your Start screen, long-tap an app until they begin to hover. Then, you can drag the app to where you want to be, resize it and unpin it from Start.

8

Import SIM contacts. Go to People, Settings, Import SIM Contacts and you will have the option to select the contacts you would like to import.

9

Use your Windows Phone's scientific calculator. Open the calculator app, then rotate your phone horizontally and it will turn into a scientific calculator.

10

Close the program completely. Hold the Back button until it shows the multitasking screen. You can then switch apps and swipe down on the ones you want to close.

11

Plug your Windows Phone into your Computer. Using a Micro USB to USB cable you can connect your phone. You can view, add, and delete files by viewing the phone in your file manager or by installing the Windows Phone app for your computer.

12

Become acquainted with new features:

Cortana: This is your very own personal voice assistant. To activate hold the Search button.

Live Tiles: View your tiles on the Start to see updates without even having to open the app.

Word Flow Keyboard: Swipe your finger across the keyboard to type more efficiently.

Games: Stay connected to gaming achievements, friends and multiplayer action with Xbox Live across your phone, PC and console.

13

Download apps. Open the Store and Sign in with your Microsoft account. Then, you will have access to over 400,000 apps which most are free. Here are some you might want to download.

Social networking apps. Most social networking sites have apps, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.

Games. Popular games like Bejewelled, Words with Friends, Angry Birds, Plants vs. Zombies and HALO Spartan Assault can help to keep you entertained.

LED flashlight apps: If your Windows Phone has a light, having a torch app can be really useful for when you drop your keys in the dark or walking down the street at night.

14

View the Notifications Center. Swipe down for the top of the screen to view all your notifications from apps you have on your phone.

15

Play with the settings. To benefit the most from your Windows Phone, customize the settings to suit you the most.

Community Q&A

You can download a file manager for Windows phone named as "Files". Just search the store for the app and after downloading you can easily manage your phone and SD card and even access and alter the contents of it.